Historical Sketch

In the early 12th century, the Kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary became joined in personal union. The crown went to the House of Habsburg in 1527, and after the Austro-Hungarian state reform of 1867, Croatia was a crown land of the Hungarian part. After the defeat in the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, and Croatia joined Serbia to form the new state of Yugoslavia in 1918. During World War II, Germany and Italy crushed and partitioned Yugoslavia. In 1941, Croatia was established as (semi-) independent state under German protectorate. Four years later, the occupants were defeated, and Yugoslavia was restored. During the 1980s, the inter-ethnic tensions within Yugoslavia were rising, and in June 1991, Croatia unilaterally declared independence, which triggered the Yugoslavian civil war. The Croatian territories with Serb majority immediately seceded as Serbian Republic of Krajina. In 1995, Croatia defeated the secessionists and integrated part of territory, the remainder followed in 1998, after a transitional UN administration.

Monetary History Overview

In July 1941, the second Croatian state passed a currency law that introduced the 1st Croatian Kuna as national currency. The Croatian State Bank was formed by nationalizing the Yugoslav National Bank. The official rate of the Kuna was pegged to the German Reichsmark, but since autumn 1942 the effective rate began to depreciate against the German currency. At the German defeat in the Second World War the Croatian state collapsed and was reintegrated into Yugoslavia. The Kuna was exchanged into Dinars at an unfavourable rate in early July 1945, cash holdings above a threshold were declared invalid.

In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. In December, the third Croatian stated introduced the Croatian Dinar as an interim currency to unlink the country from the Yugoslav economic area, and the Croatian National Bank began operations. The ongoing civil war in Yugoslavia devastated the economy. The Dinar was devalued by more than 85% within four months, then the exchange rate got floated. The Croatian currency lost more than 97% of its value in an 18-months hyperinflationary surge, until the situation began to stabilize in early 1994. At end May 1994, a currency reform was carried out cutting three zeros from the Dinar. The 2nd Croatian Kuna has remained stable against the Euro since then. In 2023, Croatia joined the European Monetary Union and introduced the European Euro. The Croatian banknotes and coins were withdrawn in within two weeks.

Croatia joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 14.12.1992.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources